1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to supports or bag holders. More particularly, this invention relates to a collapsible garbage bag holder or, in some instances, a collapsible waste and recycling receptacle, container, or can.
2. Description of Related Art
Disposable plastic bags are used ubiquitously in various applications. Their durable, lightweight, and disposable features have contributed to their popularity. However, when used for tasks such as collection of trash or other material, a disposable plastic bag alone is impractical. Typically, the mouth of the plastic bag tends to close.
This problem is pronounced when one person must hold the mouth of the bag open while attempting to insert trash or the like. Windy conditions exacerbate the problem by blowing the mouth closed, especially when the bag is empty or nearly empty. If the mouth is held open, one may efficiently insert trash and other material. Generally, such tasks require two people, or a very dexterous person. However, even a single talented person may be unable to fully hold the bag open and also insert trash.
One solution is to use a sturdy support container for the bag, such as a trash can lined with the plastic bag. However, trashcans, particularly those designed to hold large yard bags, are large, heavy, and cumbersome. Furthermore, once filled, typically the plastic bag must be lifted from the trashcan for disposal.
Support devices for holding collapsible bags in open position are not new to this art. Some of the prior art devices incorporate a circular loop having a series of hooks mounted thereon for hooking a bag in various positions about the periphery of the mouth. These hooks have tended to initiate rips and tears at stress points in the collapsible bag, thereby essentially destructing the bag when it is attempted to use the bag as intended, not to mention the time consuming task of attaching this series of hooks to the bag itself. Other devices incorporating a ring to hold the bag utilize clamps positioned about the periphery of the ring and bag to hold the bag in position. Although the clamps themselves did not rip or tear the collapsible bag, the problem of non-uniform support around the bag mouth periphery remained, resulting in potential tears at the stress points of connection of the bag to the ring.
Other solutions offer a framework to support the plastic bag. However, these devices are often complicated, thin, and cumbersome. Often such devices must be stored in an assembled condition, thereby wasting valuable storage space.
Other bag holding devices incorporated a support pole with a ring mounted thereto that was formed from two essentially flat pieces of flexible material attached to each other to form the circular ring. Due to the required flexibility and inherent low torsional resistance, this type of bag support device lacked sufficient support to maintain a collapsible bag attached thereto upright under moderate loading conditions.
Additionally, conventional bag supports such as garbage cans are generally bulky items that require considerable space for storage as well as for display in retail stores, and are awkward to handle due to their bulkiness. It would thus be desirable if such items could be collapsed so as to require less space and be more convenient to handle.
Public events that draw large crowds to sites that do not often accommodate such events usually encounter the need to place a large number of trashcans or receptacles temporarily at various locations throughout the sites. This can often prove to be an expensive and time-consuming task depending on how many receptacles must be used to collect the quantities of garbage that can be estimated to be produced because of the public event. For example, many truckloads of comparatively large, heavy receptacles may have to be rented and transported to and from the site, then situated at various locations on the site from which the garbage must be collected.
Improved, lower cost, and less-manpower intensive techniques and methods are needed to provide for the garbage and trash handling needs of such public events.